A True Fairy Family
by Binky Bridgewater
Summary: Lucy suddenly found herself in a completely different Magnolia than she was used to. She was cornered by two guys, but saved by a mysterious swordsman. He lead her to a Fairy Tail that was full of heart stopping surprises and confusion.
1. What's Going On?

**Author's Note: **_Now I'm taking on three stories, and none of them are finished. At first I planned on doing this one after I finished one of the others, but I wanted to write it while it was still fresh in my head, so here it is._

* * *

**Chapter 1:  
**_**What's Going On!**_

Lucy ran through the torrential rain, heart thumping in her chest. Her pursuers, two rough looking men with knives in their hands, screaming profanities at her. She had already taken out most of the gang that was chasing her, so her magic needed to rest, she couldn't summon anymore Celestial Spirits. Still, she was confused. These buildings were unfamiliar, totally different from the small stalls and houses in Magnolia. Some were tall and made of concrete and iron. The alleys were narrow, the entire place was shady, and not just because it was night. It wasn't all different, all of the routes were the same. Lucy ran hoping to find Fairy Tail, hopefully that hasn't changed, either.

She followed her usual route to getting to Fairy Tail, but instead of finding the guild, she ran into a dead end. A tall concrete wall, too flat for her climb, cut her pathway short and possibly her life. She was pressed against the wall as her pursuers drew closer, snickering wickedly.

"Eh, girl, if you just come with us, we won't have to hurt you." said the roughest looking of the two. He had a scar on his eye and his hair was spikey and black.

"Never! I'll never go with scum like you!" Lucy screamed, her arms in front of her face to defend herself.

The black haired man lifted his arm and held his knife to the sky. Lucy closed her eyes, as if it would alleviate the pain, but suddenly, the man froze and Lucy just heard a loud 'clank' sound, like metal clashing with metal. As Lucy peeked her eye open, the knife flew past her head, barely grazing her cheek and lodged itself into the wall behind her. The man shrieked in pain, holding the wrist that once held his knife. Blood was rolling down his arm, his partner had already been knocked out, blood draining from his head.

Lucy looked in utter shock at the men, and then up at the figure standing above them. The person held a long, thin, and glimmering sword with blood draining down its blade. The person seemed male, around the age of nineteen. He was in the dark, so it was hard to get a good look at his face. He wore a tall brown coat that reached down to his knees and a black shirt and pants. He sheathed his sword and approached Lucy, her heart racing from fear. Every molecule in her being was telling her to run, but she was too afraid to move.

To her surprise, the guy extended his hand out to Lucy and said, "We should probably go."

He held Lucy's hand and lifted her gently. His hand was cold and hard like armor, as if he were wearing a steel gauntlet. He placed his left hand on the wall and a magic circle appeared. He pressed the center of the circle. Suddenly, the concrete began to crumble revealing a large wooden door.

The swordsman pushed open the doors, revealing a staircase. Holding Lucy's hand, he led her down the dark staircase and the door creaked close behind them, leaving only a small crack of light to gleam in. Soon, even that small bit of light was gone as the concrete magically pulled itself back together, reforming a wall. Lucy clung tight to the young man's arm, biting her lower lip in fright.

As they went further down, there were flickering lamps hanging on the walls. Lucy glanced up at the swordsman just as the light illuminated his face for a quick second. However, Lucy was still able to get a quick glimpse of his face, though it wasn't enough to get his identity. He had brown eyes and light skin, but that's all Lucy was able to see.

The silence between the two was becoming awkward for Lucy, so she attempted conversation. "…Um… mi… might I ask…" She ultimately failed as he interrupted her.

"We're almost there. Until then, please don't speak."

Lucy nodded as they approached yet another freakishly large door. He pressed the doors forward and opened them, to reveal a lively bar room, no wait… this was the Fairy Tail bar room. Lucy looked around in disbelief, wondering when the guild moved, or rather, how the entire architecture of Magnolia changed. Still, at least the people in Fairy Tail hadn't changed a wink. She smiled to herself as she looked up at the man who saved her. He looked back at her and closed his eyes, a big grin on his face. Lucy paused for a moment, recognizing the scarlet haired swordsman before she finally snapped.

"ERZA! When… how… WHY!" She rubbed her head and let out an aggravated groan.

Suddenly, the grin on his face dropped as he grumbled, "Geez, I thought you'd be a bit more happy to see me."

Before Lucy could further question, someone announced from the crowd of drunken fairies, "Hey everyone! Titan's blade has returned."

"Titan's blade? Who's that?"

"I told you guys to stop calling me that already. I have a name you know." the swordsman said scratching the back of his head with an annoyed look on his face.

That's when Gray came walking out from amongst the crowd, clothes in hand, stripped down to his boxers. "We know already, Erza. Geez, we were just messin' with ya."

"Hmm, whatever. I just found Layla." He said, pointing to the confused Lucy. "It's a good thing too, some goons were bothering her again."

Suddenly, Lucy's face turned grim as she realized that they called her mother's name. Putting on a fake smile, she tugged on Erza's sleeve. "My name isn't Layla, it's Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia. You should know that."

Gray and Erza glared at her for a moment, then at each other, and then suddenly erupt in a burst of laughter. This further added to Lucy's confusion. After they laughed for about a full three minutes, Lucy snapped, "What are you two laughing at. And, Erza, when since did you become a guy? 'Cuz that's definitely new to me."

Like someone plunged a knife in his heart, Erza grabbed his chest in agony and fell to his knee while Gray started laughing uncontrollably. "Right in the pride!" he snickered.

Then Lucy turned to Gray and growled "And you, put on some freakin' clothes and stop stripping. That's not new, but it still pisses me off."

Suddenly, the entire guild was silent. Even Gray stopped laughing and Erza rose to his feet. They all stared up at the staircase on the opposite end of the room, behind the bar table. Lucy looked on with a puzzled expression as the atmosphere suddenly turned tense. Slowly, a man wearing a black suit and dark tinted shades emerged, a small blue cat resting on his shoulder. Lucy's eyes widened, this was just too much shock for one day.

Just loud enough to echo to the back of the room she asked, "Natsu,… is that you?"

The whole guild glared back at her and Erza put his hand on her shoulder. "Layla, when did you start addressing Master Dragoneel by his first name?"

Lucy yelled, " I told you my name is LUCY!" Suddenly she blinked, "Wait, Master? What are you talking about?" Lucy thought to herself, _There's no way I'm mistaken. He may have gotten a lot taller, and that scar across his nose is new, and he seems a bit more serious and scary, but he still seems the same to me. Plus, his pink hair hasn't changed, it just got a bit longer. It was like, an older more serious version of Natsu. When since did Natsu become master? _

He walked through the crowd all the way to the back, where Erza, Gray, and Lucy were standing. He stopped in front of Erza, the two of them staring each other down like wolves. Natsu fixed his shades and said coldly, "Where have you been?"

"That's none of your damn business. You should just be happy I found Layla just in time to save her."

"You idiot, she even told you her name isn't Layla. She made it clear that her name is Lucy. Besides that, Fullbuster siblings, you've been summoned and I've been sent to get you. You too,… Lucy."

Lucy blinked, "Fullbuster siblings,… as in Erza and Gray are brothers."

Natsu turned away and said, "Let's go."

He led them through the crowd. Lucy looked at all of their faces. This definitely wasn't the Fairy Tail she knew. Most of the faces were people she didn't know, and a few of them looked similar to her nakama, but it definitely wasn't them.

They walked up the staircase, Gray and Erza constantly looking back at Lucy making her feel uncomfortable. Finally, when they reached the top of the staircase, the first thing Lucy noticed was the Fairy Tail banner hung proudly over the bar table. The people there were definitely her nakama, except, they all looked older and there was far less of them than usual.

"This is rare, how often do we get called up here?" Erza snickered.

"What are you talking about, we get called up here every other day." Gray grumbled.

"Yea, but this time, we're probably not getting in trouble. I don't think we did anything wrong."

Natsu interrupted, "Actually, we know you snuck up here last night while everyone was gone. You idiot's left your scent over everything, including Mirajane's locker. The place practically reeks of ya. Even though I'm in charge of you guys, I know from experience your mom could dish out better punishment.", ending with a slight snicker that sent chills down the boys' spines.

Lucy gulped as she imagined who their mother could be. _These guys, scared of their own mom… just what kind of monster is this person?_

Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke from behind them, causing the boys to jump. "Sorry Natsu, I hope it wasn't too much of a bother."

They all turned around to see the armored Titania standing behind them along with a certain topless ice mage. Lucy said under her breath, "What the hell is going on, two Grays? And two Erzas too, except one's a boy and one's a woman." Natsu looked at her and smiled as if he heard what she was saying, but what else is there to expect from a dragon slayer, his hearing was matched only by those of other dragon slayers.

Erza looked practically the same except her face was a bit more refined. Gray was just a bit taller than he used to be, his eyes were colder, and he looked a whole lot stronger. Then again, so did everyone.

Erza went up to Lucy and put her hand on Lucy's face. "Wow. You look a whole lot younger than I remember, what kind of magic is it? As a matter of fact, you look like how you looked when you were Layla's age. You better be careful, they might think Natsu's a cradle-robber." Lucy blinked in confusion.

Gray grunted as he was holding down the boys, whom were attempting to run, even though he wasn't breaking a sweat. "Hey Erza, did you forget about these guys?"

Natsu chuckled and said, "What's wrong, Gray? Can't take care of your own kids, that you have to call on the wife. That's pathetic."

Gray let go of the boys, but Erza caught them before they had time to escape. He pointed his finger in Natsu's face and froze his shades. As Natsu's shades shattered, Gray grumbled "You pickin' a fight with me, huh. You still got a long's way to go, Dragon breath."

Natsu sneered, "You still got about a thousand lifetimes to go before you're allowed the mistake of under-estimating me, ice cubes."

A sudden burst of hostility grew between the two and, although it was pretty normal for something like this to happen between the two, considering the circumstances, now wasn't the time for that.

Lucy interrupted innocently, "Um, does anyone care to explain what's going on here?"

Natsu stepped forward with an arrogant smirk on his face and said, "Of course I'm the only one here who can explain. I'm the one that brought you here, twenty years away from the time you are accustomed to."

Lucy smiled for a moment and blinked. Suddenly she had an outburst that shook both the upstairs and downstairs Fairy Tail. "EH! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN _TWENTY YEARS_!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**_ Magnolia underwent some serious changes during those twenty years. Now it looks like the kind of city you see in movies about the mafia. Not just Magnolia though, Fairy Tail went through some serious changes as well. How's Lucy going to make it in this new environment, you'll have to wait to find out!_


	2. Twenty Years Ago

**Author's Note:** _Lucy has found herself in some serious problems, hasn't she. How would you react if one day you wake up and you're suddenly in a completely altered version of the world you used to live in? Well, right now we don't care about you because we're all too busy laughing at Lucy's reaction. Here it is, Chapter 2, Twenty Years ago. R&R, IF YOU DARE!_

* * *

**Chapter 2:  
**_**Twenty Years Ago**_

"EH! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN _TWENTY YEARS_!" Lucy's yell shook the entire building, upstairs and down and awoke a sleeping Happy from his nap on Natsu's shoulder.

Everyone looked at Natsu, shocked by his words, none more shocked than Lucy. Suddenly, a familiar chuckle echoed through the halls and yelled, "Natsu, you mad genius, you actually pulled it off!"

Their eyes locked on to the other end of the room while Happy, in his usual energetic voice yelled, "AYE!"

Soon, everyone's favorite lightning mage emerged from behind the bar. He hopped over the table and walked towards Natsu and the others, his usual smirk on his face. Lucy stuttered, "I… I thought… you got kicked out. Why are you here… Luxus?"

He grumbled, "You only could be from twenty years ago. I came back about fifteen years ago."

He turned his head to notice Erza holding down the two young men. The two were shocked by his glare and bowed their head low. In perfect sync, they said, "Excuse the intrusion, Master Dreyar."

They bolted downstairs, leaving the older members of Fairy Tail to discuss. It seemed like Lucy wore the same puzzled expression from since she arrived to this strange place. "Master? How many masters does Fairy Tail have, and of all people _Luxus_ is one of them?"

Natsu held his forehead with his eyebrows furrowed as he grumbled, "I was just about to explain before Luxus interrupted, things here are very different than it was twenty years ago. As you can see, most of Fairy Tail's older members are gone, but its much deeper than that."

Natsu gestured for the others to follow him to an empty table on the other end of the room. Luxus, Erza, Gray, and Lucy followed him, making their way through the crowd of on-looking fairies while Happy hovered over Natsu's head. Lucy nervously looked at the crowd, taking note of missing faces. Mirajane, Elfman, Wendy and Charle, Juvia, Gajeel, Levy, Bisca, some of the less important members, they were all missing.

They sat around the table. The tension in the air was high as they glanced at each other giving Lucy a nervous feeling in her stomach. She slouched in her seat as she nervously asked, "So… you mind telling me what's going on here."

They all glared at her sharply which scared her a bit. Gray averted his eyes from Lucy to stare at Natsu and growled, "Where'd you get the money to start the project? And why'd you test it on Lucy?"

Natsu rested his head in his palms, his elbows on the table. "I should just tell the story from the beginning, that way I can answer everyone's questions at once, That should be okay, right."

Happy sat on the edge of the table, right next to Natsu whom was at the end of the table. Erza and Gray sat next to each other along the side and across from them was Luxus and Lucy. "Natsu you should start from the beginning of Zeref's coup de main, that way Lucy can catch up too." Happy suggested.

"Zeref?"

"That's right. It would probably only have been a few days until it happened, that is, from the time I brought Lucy from. I remember, it was twenty years ago. Suddenly a dark, evil mist overwhelmed the sky. Red lightning bolts could be seen flashing through the sinister shrouds that covered the sky…"

* * *

**-Fairy Tail Flash Back (Twenty Years Ago)-**

"Everyone, come inside. Hurry." Mirajane announced.

The panicking mages filled the guild and shut the door behind them. "The sky, its black." Happy whimpered, standingon Natsu's shoulder, hugging onto the dragon slayer's neck.

Erza approached Makarov, attempting to stay calm in this almost apocalyptic scenario, and asked "Do you have any idea what's happening?"

In a serious and stern tone, he muttered "If it is what I think it is, then we're witnessing the final moments of the magical world as we know it today."

Shock could be seen in the faces of everyone present and an utter silence filled the room. Natsu slammed his hand on the bar table and sneered, "What do you mean last moments? What ever that cloud is, we can just blow it away, don't underestimate us Gramps, and definitely don't give up on Fairy Tail's abilities."

A rise of confidence and energy filled the room, however Makarov didn't seem to change. With eyes averted from Natsu, he gravely said, "That cloud of malice you see is nothing more than a message… A message from Zeref. He has… returned. And is much, MUCH stronger now. I am not doubting your abilities, but there's no way at this moment, you will be able to defeat him."

Lucy was no doubt terrified, "I thought Zeref died, what do you mean he's returned? It can't possibly be him."

"Zeref promised that on the day of his resurrection, he will send a shroud of darkness over all of Fiore. He said that it would be the signal for the building of his empire, his new era. He will kill all those who were responsible for his death, and also all those who oppose his kingdom. He will absorb the magic from the generations after his overthrow. To him, this is nothing more than a sick game."

Suddenly a violent and sinister snicker echoed throughout the streets of Magnolia. "This would make a wonderful place to start my kingdom, after all, it was Fairy Tail that destroyed most of my toys. Deliora and Lullaby, very unforgivable." Suddenly a violent tornado formed in front of the Fairy Tail guild, shattering windows and destroying the door. The mighty gale rushed throughout the guild, the mages had to hold on to whatever they could to avoid being swallowed by the black tornado.

Mira held onto the bar table for dear life, but lost her grip and was being pulled into the tornado. However, Gajeel let go of the table with one hand and extended a steel pillar to catch her. As she grabbed onto it, he retracted it and reformed his arm, holding Mirajane tightly to his chest. "Thank you, Gajeel. I really owe you one."

Gajeel, with his usual sneer muttered, "Don't mention it." His tone scared Mira a bit until she looked carefully at his face and could see a slight blush and a small underlined smile. She giggled a bit to herself, it was her first time seeing an expression like that on the cold, iron dragon slayer's face.

Wendy inhaled deeply and used Sky Dragon's Breath to dispel the tornado. The dense black clouds scattered back up to the sky, leaving behind a figure. It was a man with long black hair covered by a tall purple hat and blood red eyes. He wore a purple coat and pants and had a black insignia on his torso. His glare was sharp, as if it could slice through the air itself and choke you. His malicious aura was visible as the red aura seemed to gush from beneath his feet. Just looking at him struck the mages dumb as they could barely even breath, as if terror was strangling their hearts. This man, he was definitely no ordinary mage.

Master Makarov muttered under his breath, "Zeref." Just as sudden as he could speak, Zeref released a flood of magic into Fairy Tail. It engulfed the entire guild, busting through parts of the wall, flowing through the open cracks and holes. The magic was as thick as a sea of goo, drowning the members of Fairy Tail. Eventually, the dense magic became too much for the newly remodeled guild, and the walls gave way, just in time for the mages to be washed out of the guild and finally gasp in some air.

When they opened their eyes, Zeref was nowhere to be found. Only his taunting message he left behind, could be heard echoing through Magnolia and possibly even the whole of Fiore. "Take heed to my words, these are your final moments of joyful freedom. As of sunrise tomorrow, the Kingdom of Fiore will be under my control. I will be the only one permitted magic and all my laws are final. Guilds must disband and the use of magic is illegal. All those who oppose my words will be dealt with, I personally assure you of that."

Just as he promised, the next day at sunrise, a large sinister-looking palace shot up from the ground in the center of Magnolia. It looked as if it was tearing through the sky itself, creating ripples in its wake. The other-worldly ripples released demon-birds into the skies. They were completely black with red, beady eyes and featherless. Their wings resembled those of dragons, large and fearsome with the shrieks of banshees. They screeched as they covered the skies. Swiftly they descended on the citizens of Fiore, forcing some into their homes and causing others, mostly small children, to reach an untimely demise. Some acted as thieves, stealing lychrima and other magical objects from mages and merchants and carrying them back to the palace.

The whole time, Zeref watched from atop the highest tower in the palace, snickering at the devastation he created. Nothing he did before could compare to what he was planning to do. He watched in amusement as he noticed some of Fairy Tail's mages attempting to fight off his birds and guide people to safety.

The birds would often gang a single member of Fairy Tail, but be forced away by another. However, one group of birds grabbed Levy in their beaks, struggling against Jet and Droy to carry her away. They were able to successfully force Jet and Droy back as they flew away with Levy, back towards the palace to store her with all the other goods they stole.

In pure anger and rage, Jet and Droy attempted to run towards the palace to face Zeref themselves, however they were stopped by a concerned Titania. "Idiots, I understand that you want to save Levy as soon as possible, and so does the rest of us. But honestly, who do you think would last longer, Levy, or these innocent civilians and children? If you two go now, you would only provoke Zeref, whom doesn't seem concerned at all with Levy's being there."

"But, Erza…"

"You would only destroy her chances of surviving."

Although they didn't want to face facts, they knew Erza was right. Meanwhile, members were starting to team up to better protect themselves. Makarov was in the very front of the fight, beating down the birds and knocking some out of the sky while in Giant mode. Erza stayed with Jet and Droy along the front lines with Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Juvia, and Gajeel coming up right next to them. Elfman, Cana, and Macao lead another team along the center, taking care of any birds that got behind the front line. Bisca and Alzack took higher stations, shooting down birds from on top of buildings. Meanwhile Mirajane and Readus lead the back team that was to guide civilians into their homes and take out any birds that got too close.

Even in this formation, the birds seemed overwhelming. Endless and relentless, the birds just kept getting back up and fighting, tiring out even the strongest of mages. However, the mages just kept fighting and even gained the help of other mages nearby. When all the civilians were safely inside their homes, the birds suddenly seemed as if they were withdrawing their attacks.

The relieved fairies soon found themselves in a panic as all the birds suddenly swooped down and alarming speeds all at the same time, crashing through homes and kidnapping many young adults, but only young adults. No children or the elderly were taken. Before the mages could do anything to defend the hostages the birds had already ascended back to the skies, on their way back to the palace.

Zeref rose to his feet as the birds dropped their captives into the palace. He chuckled a bit as he announced, "These people will become my officers, building the cities of my dreams, which in your cases would be your worst nightmares, and bringing all troublemakers to my attention."

Zeref leaped from the building, gracefully floating down to the ground. He slammed his hand to the ground and formed a magic circle around the entire Kingdom of Fiore. The confused Fairy Tail members looked around to see what was happening. "It seems as if nothing has happened, doesn't it? Actual, nothing _has_ happened, or at least not yet. This spell will prevent your miserable future offspring from inheriting magic. Also, this spell cannot be destroyed or removed by anyone, it will only disappear on my deathbed." he smirked as he spoke, confident, if not arrogant, that he would never be defeated.

**-Fairy Tail Flashback Ended-**

* * *

Lucy trembled in her seat, "That's terrible. But, I still don't get it, what happened to Levy? What happened to everyone else?"

Gray explained, "Levy was brainwashed along with those guys Zeref took to be his officers. Right now, Levy's treating us like an enemy, just like Zeref commands her to."

Erza continued, "As for your other question, many of the mages grew impatient, especially after Master Makarov's assassination, so they formed teams and left Fairy Tail to face Zeref on their own." she turned her head with remorse, "If only we realized what they were about to do before they left, then maybe we could have stopped them."

Natsu continued, "Others who left Fairy Tail had their own personal reasons. Zeref seems to really have an interest in the dragon slayers, so he's constantly sending his officers to attack Fairy Tail. That's why Wendy left, she said she didn't want to cause any trouble and there was no way to convince her otherwise. She left about ten years ago."

Happy also wisely explained, "As the number of members went down, everything got real crazy. So a second Fairy Tail was formed called 'New Generation Fairy Tail' or 'NG Fairy Tail' for short. Natsu's in charge of those guys and Erza's the master of the original Fairy Tail. And Luxus is the overall master. He settles disputes between the two guilds and acts as master when the two guilds occasionally have to team up."

Lucy still didn't seem to completely understand, and it was made painfully obvious by her awkward expression. Natsu smiled and said, "We'll explain better in the morning, meanwhile you should rest up for the night."

Gray quickly volunteered, "She could stay with us, it doesn't seem like anyone else is going home."

Lucy quickly rejected his offer claiming, "Sorry I don't think I'll feel comfortable around you for the night."

"Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on him, Lucy." Erza reassured.

"Why? Are you coming too?" Lucy questioned, still a bit confused.

"Of course, it is my house too."

"You and Gray live together?"

Gray muttered, "Of course we live together, we're married."

Lucy was shocked stiff while Luxus burst into laughter at her reaction, stating, "I thought it was pretty disgusting when I found out."

Suddenly he was silenced by a metal fist in his face as Erza punched him out of his seat. As he got back up lightning was pouring from his mouth as he exclaimed, "Son of a… Who the hell do you think you are?" He shot a bolt of lightning from his arm, which Erza quickly dodged and requipped into her Lightning Empress Armor.

The bolt of lightning hit Gray, leaving a slight singe on his upper arm. He slammed his hand on the table and growled, "Bastard, you trying to pick a fight."

Natsu snickered a bit and said, "You better stay out of this Gray, it may be a bit too intense for…" He was interrupted by a ball of ice that came flying at his face.

Soon everyone in the guild was fighting and destroying everything. Some of the members from NG Fairy Tail came upstairs to check it out, but was immediately blown back by a force of magic. Lucy, just as she did in the past, sat at the table watching everyone go crazy. She giggled under her breath, "This is definitely the Fairy Tail I remember, even if it got a bit older, it hasn't changed a bit."

* * *

**Omake:** A section for things I wanted to put in at first, but changed my mind cause they were probably too stupid or something, but were still too funny not to mention, (or at least I find 'em funny).

**Mirajane and Gajeel scene:  
**Mira held onto the bar table for dear life, but lost her grip and was being pulled into the tornado. However, Gajeel let go of the table with one hand and extended a steel pillar to catch her. With all the debris and dust flying around, Gajeel couldn't keep his eyes open and so he left this operation to feeling. Suddenly he felt a tug at the end of his pillar and quickly retracted it. He quickly opened his eyes only to see Mirajane's clothes in his hand, but no Mira.

He turned back to see Mira being pulled into the tornado in only her underwear as she yelled, "Gajeel you idiot!" Many of the men in Fairy Tail who turned to look ended up losing their grip at the sight of Mira's body and were sucked into the tornado behind her.

* * *

**Author's Note:** _That's the only omake for now. Anyway, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, this is probably my favorite story that I'm working on.  
__Hehe, I'm gonna use this to my advantage *ahem* I'm asking everyone who's reading this now to please visit this website blackkat13 (.) weebly(.) com. Its my personal website and its new, so I need content and that's what I'm asking everyone for. Anyway,__ Gonna get working on the next chapter as soon as I can. Don't forget to review! _


	3. A Night with the Fullbusters

**Author's Note:** _Yea, it took awhile for me to get back to this. I mean, new school (Finally in Senior High, hooray for me!), new manga, not to mention homework. Still, if I take too long to update from now on, please remind me, cuz chances are, I forgot. So here it is, the long awaited third chapter. read, review, Rejoice!_

* * *

**Chapter 3:  
**_**A Night with the Fullbusters**_

After about two hours of fighting, everything simmered down. Lucy sat on the barstool, amazed. '_Age doesn't seem to slow these guys down, huh'_ she thought to herself. In any case, she was glad that Fairy Tail didn't change too much, that it was still a warm family. But Lucy became worried as she realized something strange. Where was the future version of herself? They didn't say that anything bad happened to her, but she wasn't around and they didn't even mention her in the story. Strange.

As she sat there dazed, she didn't realize when Gray and Erza approached her. She was snapped out of her trance when Erza placed her heavy hand on Lucy's shoulder and said, "It's getting late, shall we head out."

Surprised, she shot out of her chair and awkwardly stammered, "Is that so… oh right, look at the time! Guess it is time to go, so let's go…!" ending with an awkward and slightly unsettling laugh.

"…Right." Gray replied suspiciously.

Without another word, Gray and Erza led Lucy downstairs. As they walked through the crowd of NG fairies, the fairies gave Gray and Erza a simultaneous salutation. "Thank you for the work, Master Erza, Mr. Fullbuster. See you tomorrow." With a nod of the head, the two gestured a good bye to their younger generation.

The large doors were pushed open and they ascended the staircase Lucy came down with the other Erza in the beginning. The eerie feeling that flight of stairs gave off sent chills up Lucy's spine. Gray activated the magic seal on the concrete exit and again the walls collapsed. When everyone was off the staircase, the wall rebuilt itself, just like before.

Gray and Erza walked nonchalantly onto the sidewalk of the main road, while Lucy on the other hand, was staggering, barely able to move her legs, out of fear that one of Zeref's henchmen could be watching.

"You don't have to be so tense you know. You look more suspicious walking like that." Erza noted.

"She looks like a robot with those stiff movements. Like she hadn't been oiled for years." Gray commented.

"Well excuse me for being scared, but I'd rather not die under these circumstances." Lucy argued.

Gray and Erza looked at Lucy for a second, realizing the awkward position that she was put into. Erza reassured, "No matter what happens, we'll make sure you get out of this and back to your own time, alive."

The streets were empty and very few people occupied the sidewalks. Only gangsters, drunkards, and prostitutes were out this kind of time, and I guess, Fairy Tail wizards too. The whole scene was pretty sad. Even Lucy could feel a small wave of depression surrounding her. Is this really what the future will be like? Is this all Magnolia will be reduced to? It was surprising and unacceptable to Lucy, but for the others she met there, this was daily life.

They came to a sudden stop in front of a house, nothing out of the ordinary. It just seemed like your typical house from the outside. A gate, a white paint job with blue trimming, nothing to set it apart from anywhere else.

"This is it. Home sweet home." Gray said, a slight bit of sarcasm in his voice.

Lucy was in a weird sense relieved. Somehow, she was trying to picture the perfect home for Erza and Gray and somehow, she was stuck between a metal fortress and an ever-frozen igloo. In any case, both would be cold, and pretty uncomfortable for her to live, so it was nice to see it was normal.

By the time she snapped back into reality, Gray and Erza were already in the doorway, just about ready to go inside. She ran inside and they closed the door behind her. The place was normal on the inside as well, your regular old living room.

Suddenly, they heard scurrying footsteps make their way upstairs. They chased the sound to reveal the other, younger Gray and Erza, trying to escape out a window. Erza and Gray, grabbed their younger counter parts. Erza sternly stated, "You two aren't getting away that easy."

They fought to get away, but soon, New Generation (NG) Erza's eyes locked with Lucy's for a second. He gave her a confusing glare that she didn't understand. In a second, Lucy's eyes were averted to the Erza she grew up with, as she spoke, "Lucy, you can take a bath now if you want. It would probably be the best way for you to settle your mind."

Lucy responded with a nod as she exited the room before she could even hear the directions to the bathroom. Oh well, the house was not that big, if she checked all the rooms, she'd eventually find it.

Lucy's head was shrouded with questions that just confused her even more. Where was her future self, why did NG Erza glare at her so strangely. She opened the first door she saw on instinct, that incidently turned out to be the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and looked around for moment before she realized, the bathroom was bigger than the living room! The bathtub looked big enough for ten people to fit in. These guys were really serious when it came to their bathroom! And even better, the tub was filled with steaming hot water, good for cleansing the skin. Lucy felt like the luckiest girl in the world at that moment.

Lucy was excited just looking at it, she couldn't wait to just dive into the pool sized bathtub before her. She threw off her clothes and immersed herself in the water. She felt as though she could sit in there for hours just staring into space. She was too happy to think about all those depressing thoughts.

After about an hour of just soaking in the tub, Lucy came out the water. She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, posed, and giggled to herself. "_Guess I was worrying over nothing._" She whispered to herself. She grabbed two towels and wrapped them around herself. One wrapped around her body while the other was wrapped around her hair.

She walked down the hallway in search of Erza, her Erza, but forgot where the room was. While she was cluelessly wondering around, she ended crossing paths with NG Erza, and he didn't seem too happy. Again, he gave her a confusing glare, which made the situation a little awkward. She attempted conversation in hope to lighten the mood.

"Umm… so…"

"Be quiet."

So much for that plan. But he did something strange at that moment. He grabbed her hand and guided her down the hallway at a fast walking pace. Struggling to keep up, Lucy held the falling towel over her body as she was dragged down the hallway and into a large empty room.

He closed the door and locked it, still keeping a tight grip on Lucy's wrist. When he was sure the door was locked, he let go of her hand and sat down in a chair. The only chair in this room where its only pieces of furniture were that chair, and a drawer with a mirror on top.

"Geez, what is going on with you? You've been acting weird around me since I met you." Lucy said, rubbing the sore area on her wrist from his insanely tight grip.

Looking at him sit there, he did remind her a lot of Erza, there was no denying he was Erza's son. They didn't have to tell Lucy that for her to put two and two together. He looked exactly like her except maybe he had little more visible muscle and was slightly taller. He didn't wear full armor like Erza did, but he wore a steel gauntlet on his left arm and wore a jacket over it. If Lucy hadn't looked closer, she never would have realized, it looked like just another piece of his body. Somehow though, he did give off that sense of masculinity, despite looking so much like his mother.

He carried four swords. One on either of his two sides and two on his back. It was obvious from when he fought those guys that attacked Lucy, he was an excellent swordsman.

"Hey…" he said interrupting Lucy's train of thought.

"What?" Lucy answered with a slight bit of harshness.

"Why are you acting like that? Why are denying being Layla, did you lose your memory or something?" he asked.

There it was, that name again. Why did he keep calling her that? She had to find out. "Why do you keep calling me Layla, I told you I'm Lucy."

He slammed his hands on the drawer in anger and yelled, "Stop lying to me." Suddenly he calmed down and said in a slightly depressing manner, "If you aren't Layla, then where is she?"

"Who is Layla?" Lucy asked curiously.

He looked at her for a few seconds before answering, "If you really are who they say you are then… she's your future daughter. And I'm her useless knight who was supposed to protect her but couldn't."

"My future daughter? With who?"

"Master Dragoneel, you two _are_ married you know."

"My who!… With _him_… what type of sick messed up time is this!" she was at a lost for words. She was getting all worked up, and it didn't hit her until she said it, that this wasn't the time to be discussing that. "You said, you were her knight… and that you couldn't protect her. Were you two… like… dating or something."

He looked at her with a flustered expression, a light blush lining his cheeks. He argued, "Don't be ridiculous! Layla and I, that's a joke. She's just the one that gave me my nickname 'Titan's Blade'… There's nothing between us."

Lucy found it a bit funny that he was trying to deny the obvious fact that he liked her. She pointed out, "You said you were _her knight_, didn't you."

"I misspoke, I meant I was _a knight_, I accidentally said her knight…" He started rubbing his head as if he getting irritated before he yelled out, "Oh just shut up."

Lucy found it way too funny, she couldn't hold back the laughter. "Sorry, sorry, so what about this nickname business? 'Titan's Blade', right."

"There's actually a interesting story behind that."

* * *

**-Fairy Tail Flashback- (About two years ago)**

"Ehh, what are complainingcomplaining about now, Erza." NG Gray drawled.

It was just another day in the New Generation Fairy Tail's guild, NG Erza was just complaining to Layla and his fraternal twin, Gray again.

"I just think its about time. I mean people only recognize us as the children of 'The Great Titania', or 'S-class wizard, Master Gray's ' sons. We need to make a name for ourselves." Erza argued.

"And you think the best way to do that is to have nicknames?" Gray questioned.

"It would be really cool if you guys got nicknames like your mom. You'd have to be really strong and really impress people for that to happen." Layla added. She looked like her mother, and acted like her, too.

"See Gray, Layla agrees with me."

"Then you two have fun, but don't include me." He got up and walked away.

Before he got out of ear-shot, Layla warned, "Put on some clothes before you go outside."

She laughed at the sight of a flustered Gray, scuffling around looking for his clothes.

The day ended with no particularly interesting events, and so NG Erza and Gray walked home together. The only thing on Erza's mind was how he was going to make a name for himself. What insane task could he pull of so that everyone would start calling him great? He thought long and hard all the way home and he even dreamed about it.

**-The Next Day-**

"Where's your brother, Gray?" Layla asked questionably looking around the room for NG Erza.

"How should I know, he said he had a job to do and then he went ahead of me, I hadn't seen him since." Gray said uncaringly.

"Geez, I hope he isn't being reckless again.", she sighed.

Just then, Master Dragoneel ran downstairs in a panic. "Where's Erza?"

"Which Erza?" NG Gray asked jokingly.

Natsu gripped him by his collar, fire swirling around his arms, as he sternly spoke, "I'm not kidding, where is your brother? He stole a SS-rank job sheet from upstairs."

"Erza that idiot, he was _that_ serious." Gray said under his breath.

Natsu loosened his grip and let Gray go as he asked again, "Do you have any idea where your brother is?"

"Sorry, he didn't say."

Suddenly the entrance to the guild swung open and NG Erza fell in, wounded and barely able to catch his breath. He was struggling to breathe as he held a series of open gash wounds that lined his torso, allowing the slashes across his left arm to bleed freely.

His brother, Natsu, and Layla ran to his aid. Natsu and Gray carried him upstairs while Layla followed closely behind. Upstairs, they patched him up in the guild clinic and wrapped his wounds with bandages. Natsu had retrieved the job sheet from in his pocket and returned it to the job posts, while Gray returned downstairs.

Layla stayed by Erza's bedside, sitting down in a nearby chair, making sure he was okay. After about thirty minutes of remaining unconscious, his eyelids twitched slightly and Layla noticed. She stood up and stared into his face, and again his eyelids twitched. She held up her hand and slapped across his face, knocking him out of the bed.

He shot up quickly and yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

She argued back, "What the hell is wrong with _you_! Pretending to be unconscious while everyone was worried about you."

"How did you know?"

"Because you're an idiot! Unconscious people don't twitch!"

"Look, I know that when I get up, Master Dragoneel, Master Dreyer, and especially my mom and dad are going to try to kill me. Besides, don't pretend like you weren't worried too. I mean you stayed in here all that time."

"I wasn't worried about you, I just had to make sure that when you got up you didn't break anything. You are a reckless idiot after all."

"Say what you like but I knew you were worried about me.", he smiled.

"Whatever.", she pouted. Erza laughed a bit, and made her a bit embarrassed.

"Titan's Blade." She said softly.

"Excuse me." he said, asking for her to repeat.

"Titan's Blade, its what I'm gonna call you." she explained.

"I thought you said I had to impress people to get a nickname like my mom's."

"Trust me, you impressed a lot of people today by showing off how stupid you really are."

"I don't think that counts." he sighed.

"How about this then, you actually came back alive from a SS-rank job. Even if you didn't complete what the job said, coming back alive was an accomplishment in itself."

He couldn't believe his ears, it sounded like… like a compliment. "Fine then, I guess I'll accept it. At least its something right." he said coolly.

They looked at each other and smiled.

**-Fairy Tail Flashback Ends-**

* * *

"Eventually the nickname caught on with everyone else, and I made a name for myself." He said awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

"So you attempted a mission you weren't in a high enough class for, _where does that sound familiar_?" she said, remembering how Natsu did something strangely similar in the past and somehow got her involved.

* * *

**Omake:**_ Here comes another omake!_

**Continuation from the end:**

"Do you…" NG Erza started, awkwardly twiddling his finger. Lucy looked at him a bit curious to see what he was going to ask. He continued, "You mind if I like… hug you…"

Lucy was a bit shocked by this odd request and quickly yelled, "Why would you ask something like that?"

"If you thought it was so strange, you could have just said no." he said with a slight sadness in his eyes.

Fearing that she hurt his feelings she stuttered, "That's not what I meant… I mean… oh just do it then!" She gave in.

Almost as quickly as she said it, he shot up from his seat and hugged her. He tucked his head on her shoulder as he whispered in her ear "You fell for it, didn't you… my sad eyes."

She pushed him away as he laughed at her embarrassed face. She stomped and yelled, "Geez you're just a pervert!"

He looked at her and his eyes grew wide. He reached out and said, "The towel…" When she stomped down the towel around her loosened and began to fall. He reached out in an attempt to grab it before it fell off, but accidentally knocked into Lucy's foot. They both lost their balance and fell. Lucy fell flat on the floor while Erza stopped himself by putting his hands out forward and landing on all fours. The towel landed on Lucy, only covering her lower half.

Before they could move, they heard a key turn the lock on the doorknob. They both looked forward as Erza yelled out, "Dad."

Gray stood in the doorway and looked at them for a few seconds before slowly closing the door and saying, "Sorry for interrupting."

"I'll have to explain the situation to dad since I know he had a misunderstanding. Who knows what he'll tell mom and Master Dragoneel." Erza sobbed.

Lucy sighed and then angrily kicked Erza yelling "Get off of me already!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** _I had some serious trouble when it came to the whole family thing. Maybe I shouldn't have named them after their parents, but anyway too late now. Anyway, I'll try and update quicker this time. Don't forget to review!_


	4. The Time Travel Doohickey

**Author's Note:** _After her talk with NG Erza, Lucy eventually found her way to the guest room. The night was a lot quieter than she expected, it was like a normal home, or at least, that's what she thought until she woke up for the morning after almost being decapitated by a stray sword that lodged itself into the backboard of the bed. Here it is, Chapter 4. R&R!_

_Edit: I had to re-upload the chapter because somehow it got messed up, but the story itself hasn't been edited. In other words, if you already read this chapter, don't bother re-reading because nothing has changed. However I will start updating soon, so look forward!_

* * *

**Chapter 4:  
**_**The Time Travel Doohickey**_

Lucy opened her eyes as the gleaming morning sun peeked through the window. Her eyes winced open from the blinding morning glimmer, only to widen at the sight of a sharpened sword flying towards her. She dove under the covers, barely dodging the blade that lodged itself into the backboard of the bed. No better way to start the morning than with a near death experience, right…

Lucy crawled out of bed, alert yet trembling with fear. She could see the hole in the door from where the sword had entered the room. Slowly she peeked through the door, careful not to end up on the wrong end of another stray sword. Quickly, she ducked back through the door as a large ice shard flew past her head. Too afraid to go back out, Lucy sat behind the door, trembling in the fetal position, hoping for it all to be over soon.

Eventually, Lucy gained the courage to leave the room and check out what was going on downstairs. Pressed against the wall, she inched her way down the staircase and into the kitchen.

There, on the kitchen table, stood the original Gray with an angry scowl on his face and stripped down to his boxers. Also standing, with his chair on the floor, was NG Erza, baring one of his swords. The sword that nearly took Lucy's head was probably another one of his. The two seemed to be fighting while Erza and Gray Jr. were just sitting down nonchalantly eating breakfast. '_Something tells me they're used to this'_, Lucy thought to herself.

"Pass it over, NOW!" Gray snarled.

"I got it, and you didn't, get over it." NG Erza mocked.

Lucy went up closer and asked Erza what was going on so early in the morning. But, before Erza could answer Gray yelled, "Damn it, that's the last strip of bacon, I'M THE MAN OF THE HOUSE SO I DESERVE IT!"

"You want it, PRY IT FROM MY COLD FISTS!", he yelled as he slashed his sword at Gray.

Gray stepped back and barely avoided the tip of the blade. He froze his fist over and launched a punch at his son, who blocked it with the dull of his sword. He shattered the ice on Gray's fist, but was pushed all the way to the wall by the sheer force behind it. Gray stepped closer and mocked, "Now are you ready to give it up."

NG Erza quickly threw the strip of bacon into his mouth before Gray could grab it. Gray gripped his son's throat and growled, "Bastard, spit it up."

NG Erza forced it down his throat and gave a teasing smirk to his father. Lucy stared at the two blankly in disbelief. She couldn't understand how she was almost decapitated, _twice_, for a one single strip of bacon.

…

After the breakfast commotion died down, the twins head out to return to the guild.

"Hmm, why aren't you two going to the guild yet?" Lucy asked with a puzzled expression, watching Gray drink a cup of coffee with a frustrated scowl.

"Right now it isn't safe." Gray growled, brooding over the bacon that could have been.

"Isn't safe…"

"That's right…" Erza answered as she slowly lifted herself from her chair. "For the New Generation Fairy Tail, it's usually okay for them to leave in the morning. They aren't top priority for fairy hunters."

"Fairy hunters? You mean like the ones from when we were in Edolas."

"Something like that, they're Zeref's officers. Since Fairy Tail is the only magic guild left in Magnolia, they're always seeking to take us down. However, they usually only hunt at night, since less people are around, but there have been cases where Fairy Tail members were attacked in the morning."

Gray abruptly stood to his feet and announced, "We should probably leave now."

"How is the time now different from a few minutes go?" Lucy argued.

"Don't misunderstand what I said earlier, Lucy. It isn't dangerous for us, we wouldn't have any problems handling those goons. But now those two pains are far enough away, so if we get caught up in anything, they won't get dragged down, too." Gray explained.

Lucy was a bit surprised to hear that from Gray. He didn't seem to really care for his kids too much, but I guess even he can learn how to be a father. _'A father, huh…' _, Lucy whispered to herself, remembering the way her own father treated her.

Suddenly it hit her and she began quickly, almost mechanically mumbling to herself. _'Wait a minute, am I forgetting the fact that I'm married to Natsu? What was I drinking during that time, how could I even consider it?'_

Gray tried to get her attention by calling out to her, "Lucy. Lucy, you okay?"

Soon, Lucy's eyes widened as she started to think further. _'Now that I think about it, for us to have a child together that means we had to have done this and that and… and…' , _suddenly steam rose from Lucy's head and with a small spark, her brain shut down and she was left like a hollow shell.

Gray simply marveled as he said, "Ah, Lucy short circuited."

Erza, standing in the doorway, pointed out, "Weren't we supposed to be leaving?"

Lucy's head bobbed back up robotically. "Whoa, quick recovery." Gray commented as he walked towards his wife and they shared a quick kiss. The couple began to walk through the door before Erza called back to Lucy, "Hey Lucy, are you all right?"

She peered over at the celestial mage, who was limping over the table with a slightly, sickly appearance. "Sorry, I'm just not used to that, yet."

Erza smiled and chuckled a bit, while Gray rolled his eyes with a hint of annoyance.

…

Gray and Erza walked tall and proud, while Lucy on the other hand cowered at even the slightest sound or sudden movement. From a small puppy's bark to the leaves being rustled by the wind, each of them brought Lucy closer and closer to having a heart attack. Even a greeting as common as 'hello' from an elderly woman caused Lucy's nerves stand on end. As they approached Fairy Tail's hidden entrance, Lucy made a minor observation of her surroundings. Contrary to the night before, Magnolia was quite an energetic place in the morning. Happy and carefree were the citizens, it was impossible that after witnessing this scene you would be able to tell that these people were under a dictatorship from one of the most evil minds to ever live.

'_What_ _exactly are Zeref's true intentions?'_, Lucy thought to herself.

They walked down the dark staircase as usual and walked upstairs to greet the original Fairy Tail members, but the atmosphere today was tense. A few people who weren't there before made their appearance today, including Mirajane, Gajeel, and Visca. As usual, Mirajane wore a big bright smile that illuminated the glum that was over the guild the other night. It seemed more lively this morning, proof that everyday offers a new promise, and a hidden happiness.

Gray and Erza led Lucy to the back room of the guild, that once belonged to Master Makarov. It was turned into a meeting room for the guild's masters, a small round table set in the center of the room with five chairs surrounding it. A round-table discussion, is what they call it.

"It's about time you reached here." Natsu announced from the table, sitting next to Luxus, whom was half-asleep. Happy was sitting anxiously on Natsu's shoulder.

Lucy sat directly across from Natsu, cringing at the feeling of this intense aura around her. This was going to be a really serious discussion, and Lucy wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle what will be said here.

"We all know the reason we're here, right? I'm going to explain the situation thus far and my plans by using such methods." A silent pause rose for a few moments as the mages exchanged looks with each other. Even Luxus had awakened to hear what was going on, although he had a slight idea.

Natsu continued, "You all know I was working on that project for the past fifteen years. A machine that could allow me to bring persons from the past into the present. However, building it and testing it were two different situations on their own…"

"Who would want to test a project called 'The Time Travel Doohickey'? At least come up with a better name before begging people to trust you." Gray interrupted.

Happy snapped, "Gray! That's cruel."

"It's true…" Natsu said earnestly. He locked his eyes and Lucy and continued, "There was only one person who trusted me enough to stake their life on my project, and that was Lucy."

Lucy became a bit uncomfortable at that moment as Natsu's eyes locked onto hers. Regardless, he continued to tell the story, his eyes set on her, serious and fierce as ever.

* * *

**-Fairy Tail Flashback-**

"Why would I test something like that? Natsu, who exactly do you think I am?" Evergreen snubbed.

Yet another rejection to add to the pile. Natsu was trying his hardest to get a suitable test subject, but he was running out of options. He was working for fifteen years on this project, and he finally had a substantial breakthrough. A time travel machine that he believed could make a serious difference in their battle with Zeref. Due to the time he had dedicated to building the machine, when he had finally finished his prototype, he didn't have a name for it. He didn't even realize this sad fact until Gray pointed it out to him. He came up with a name on the spot, however this further discouraged people from assisting the young pink-haired dragon slayer. 'The Time Travel Doohickey' is what he called it. A genius with no naming sense.

Natsu grumbled all the way down to the hidden basement of Fairy Tail, where a certain blonde mage awaited him. "So how'd it go?", she asked with innocent curious eyes. Natsu's grumbles became louder in response to her question, causing her to giggle.

Lucy had matured quite a bit during this war, and this showed even in her outer appearance. Her hair had grown down to the small of her back, which she normally tamed into a ponytail. She wore a white blouse and a short blue skirt with her signature whip by her side. She also gained some height whereas she reached Master Dragoneel's shoulders. Her celestial keys jingled from the pouch around her waist.

"I've asked everyone in the guild, and they all said no." Natsu pouted letting out a huge sigh.

Lucy sighed as well before saying sarcastically, "Guess there's no other choice."

Natsu looked up as he felt the warmth of his wife's hand on his neck, curious of what she meant by what she just said. She placed a small kiss on his cheek and spoke in his ear, "I'll do it for you."

Natsu pushed away from Lucy with a slight bit of hostility in his voice as he yelled, "Lucy have you gone crazy! That's way too dangerous a risk! I could never live with myself if I messed this up with you inside!"

"Then who else will do it?"

"If no one else will, then I'll…"

"You're the only one who can operate the machine. If you go, then who will run the machine?" Lucy argued.

Natsu was silent. He groaned a bit under his breath realizing that Lucy was right, but still, was he willing to take the risk? He thought to himself for a few moments, before finally yelling out in aggravation, "Fine, I get it, I get it!"

…

The next day Natsu started up the machine looking nervously at his wife, who shown of slight uneasiness as well. She stepped into the chamber of the machine as Natsu locked her in. Happy and Layla stood back as audience to witness the first use of Natsu's invention. Layla's eyes glimmered with little sparkling teardrops as she waved goodbye to her mother. If Natsu's Time Travel Doohickey works according to plan, the current Lucy should be carried off by a ray of light and replaced with the Lucy from twenty years ago.

He pulled levers and pushed buttons before showing one last smile to his wife to send her off. She nervously smiled back. Slowly, the genius dragon slayer pulled the last lever. The machine started beeping and lighting up wildly before immersing the entire room in a blinding light.

Happy's eyes were the first to recover as he let out a horrid shriek. Slowly, the father and daughter winced their eyes open. Both of their eyes widened as they looked towards the spot where Lucy once stood. The machine opened, but no one was inside.

"Where'd Lucy go? What happened?" Happy whined.

Layla held back the scream in the back of her throat as the tears quickly and easily flowed down her cheeks. She looked to her father for his usual reassuring look, but instead what she saw in his expression was confusion and anxiety. His usual strength was replaced with nerve-racking fear. Layla couldn't take it to stay there so she rocketed upstairs back to NG Fairy Tail and then out the door. She hoped that this was all a dream, but sadly though, this was far from it.

**- Fairy Tail Flashback End-**

* * *

"And later on that's when I was found…right?" Lucy nervously suggested. Natsu nodded his head. "So what about Layla? What happened to her?"

Natsu was silent, releasing a slight grunt under his breath as Lucy asked that question. He averted his eyes from Lucy to focus on the ceiling. "We couldn't find her. The Fullbuster siblings volunteered to continue the search for her, which is when NG Erza found you. Mistaking you for Layla, he brought you back."

"I have one more question… how come you knew I wasn't your daughter the first time I met you?"

"You think I wouldn't recognize my wife's scent."

Gray complained, "I'm sure that's not everything we need to know about the situation. That's probably just the beginning, right."

Natsu nodded, and the atmosphere changed. It felt like the air was thick enough to strangle you, definitely not the kind of situation Lucy would want to go through. Regardless though, she knew she had to stay and tough out this meeting, since this whole thing heavily involved her. All she could do was swallow her anxieties and hope for the best.

* * *

**Author's Note:** _I know this story is supposed to be on hold (Yes, its supposed to be on hold for those of you who didn't know), but I had to write on it again. I'm not supposed to write on this until I finish One Hot Summer, but it doesn't matter if I bend the rules a bit. Besides, I'm sure you guys were tired of waiting for an update. Now, I'm not sure when the next update will be, but it probably won't be soon. But for now, don't forget to review. No omakes today, *sobs*. _


	5. A Fateful Encounter

**Author's Note:** _Yay, Update! Well, the story is off pause now, I finished off One Hot Summer on Christmas, and now it's time to complete this story. I'm sure I made you all pretty mad having to wait for so long, but here it is chapter 5, it has a stupidly long title -.-' … but whatever! Read, Review, Rejoice! _

* * *

**Chapter 5:  
**_**Fateful Encounter**_

Lucy was on wits end by now. She looked around the table to see if there was anyone else as nervous as she was, but she was struck with shame. Even if they entered the room with a slight bit of uneasiness, everyone was now sitting coolly. Their expressions were serious, but they didn't seem worried or anything like that.

"What's the point?" Luxus said coldly.

Everyone fixed their eyes on Luxus now. He roared, "Don't screw with us Natsu! What's the point of bringing someone from the past into this war? She's drastically inexperienced, as good as dead!"

Lucy flinched with a shudder. _'Dead… good as dead…'_, She repeated in her mind with a drone.

Erza quickly stood up and warned sternly, "Watch your mouth Luxus. Even as a master, that mouth of yours can cause you problems."

"Don't pretend you didn't want to say the same thing, Erza."

She closed her eyes in silent thought. Slowly the armored wizard slid back into her chair and responded, "Consider Lucy's feelings in this situation and choose your words carefully. I'm sure she's frightened to death."

Luxus looked over at Lucy. She was shuddering and her face was completely pale. She had the expression of a sheep being led to the slaughter house and the tears were practically too scared to come out. The irritated lightning slayer spat, "That's just what the hell I'm talking about."

He got up and slammed his hands into the table causing Lucy to almost shoot up out of her seat. He looked like he was about to say something, but he changed his mind and walked out the room. Just as he was about to close the door, he stopped in the crevice and said, "Give me a briefing when this damn meeting is over, Erza." He slammed the door and stomped off.

Erza sighed while Gray complained, "He's always walking out on meetings. _'Give me a briefing Erza.'_ he always says. Screw him."

Happy mused, "Gray's so jealous."

"There's more than one way to skin a cat. Happy, don't forget that." Gray threatened.

Lucy crossed her arms below her chest and said in a slightly annoyed tone, "Aren't we supposed to be discussing something here?"

"Weren't you the one who was cowering in the corner just a second ago?" Happy pointed out.

"Grow up cat!"

"Lucy's right, this is supposed to be serious." Natsu stood.

"I am a bit curious though…" Erza started. "Luxus did make a point, no matter how crude he was about it. Lucy has absolutely no experience when it comes to dealing with Zeref and honestly, I'd feel more confident with the Lucy of our time fighting by my side. She isn't even an S-Class mage at this point."

Natsu was silent for a moment. Gray urged him to talk, "Come to think of it, anyone from that time period would seem pretty useless in this war, even Guildartz. Natsu, explain yourself."

Suddenly the fire dragon-slayer spoke up, "The truth is…, if we judge it by just experience then you'd be right, she'd be at a drastic disadvantage."

"Then why?" Lucy breathed. They were practically discussing her death. She was trying to fight back the tears building up in her eyes. "I'm so confused, why would you bring me here to die?", she sobbed.

Natsu chuckled a bit attracting everyone's attention. "Actually, you would be most likely to survive this battle, that is if my theory is correct."

Gray quickly shot up from his seat, throwing over his chair in the process, as he accused, "Bull crap! What kind of theory could you possibly have that could somehow miraculously save us! Why can't any of us do it, huh Natsu explain that!"

"Cool down Gray. Watch your temper." Erza warned calmly. Gray grumbled to himself as he stood his chair upright and sat back down.

Suddenly Natsu said, "Magic Tracers…" Immediately as Natsu said that, both Erza and Gray flinched a little, but quickly regained their cool.

"Magic Tracers?" Lucy echoed with a puzzled expression.

"It's a special spell that allows you to track down anyone you attach it to by following their magic patterns." Happy wisely explained.

"But it is impossible for magic tracers to be attached to any of us. It would have come up in the scan we did a few weeks ago, however there was no trace of enemy magic." Erza noted.

"There was no trace of enemy magic because the spell has been feeding off of its host's magic. We've blamed our diminishing magic on age, but the truth is the magic tracers are sucking up our magic like fleas and we've been none the wiser."

"Even if that is true, Lucy can't win this war on her own, even at full power."

"I know, but bringing Lucy here is just to prove my theory. The way this battle between us and Zeref is going, we're probably going to all die out within the next five years."

"Way to be optimistic.", Lucy commented sarcastically. "Wait, what do you mean I'm _just here to_ _prove your theory_? What did you bring me here to do?"

A large familiar smile grew on Natsu's face as he cheerfully said, "I just need you to play decoy, will ya do it? Its easy!"

Lucy suddenly felt a feeling of nostalgia hit her when she saw Natsu smile like that. It was the first time he smiled that big and was so happy since she arrived in this strange time period. It was just like the way he smiled before and, on pure instinct alone, she nodded her head to accept his request.

* * *

Meanwhile, a young blonde girl was running from a group of men, each carrying weapons ranging from blades to guns to chains. She ran through narrow alleys trying to elude the men, but no matter what she did they just kept following her.

Suddenly she found herself backed against the wall of a dead end. The men stepped aside and let the scariest looking of them all walk up to the front. He was probably the boss. He carried a silver revolver in his hand and a familiar scar on his eye. He snickered as he walked towards the young girl who was practically scared stiff.

He stopped and stood right in front of her as she slid down to her knees. Her legs gave out on her. Suddenly he held up his bandaged left hand and said, "You're gonna pay for what your friend did to me the other day, blondie."

"What are you talking about? This is the first time I've met you." she whimpered.

"Don't screw with me!" he yelled with anger and bashed the end of his gun into her head. "You think I don't remember! You're carrying the same whip, you're hair's the same color, you look exactly the same!"

He held the gun to her head and said, "This wouldn't have happened if you just came with me and my partner last night, and you probably wouldn't have to suffered if your friend had just left us alone. Bad luck for you."

He replaced his gun back in his belt and walked past his gang. Just before he was out of earshot, he said "Have fun with her guys."

Suddenly the blonde girl smirked and quickly drew her whip. She laughed, "You actually fell for that! You guys are really stupid you know, like I'd actually be scared of you!"

One of the gang members lunged at her with his sword in his hand. With a quick flick of her wrist, she cracked her whip and it stung him right in the center of his chest. She smirked and pressed a hidden button at the handle of the whip. Within less than a moment, powerful bolts of electricity ran down the wire-like leather of the whip, knocking the man unconscious in a violent fit.

She held up her palm to the sky revealing a blue Fairy Tal mark. "Let me make this clear, I am a member of NG Fairy Tail, therefore I have no fear! I am Layla Dragoneel!"

With a few skillful moves she was able to knock out the entire gang without breaking a sweat. She sighed, "Now all that's left is the boss. This is too easy."

Suddenly, a hand-shaped boomerang flew past her face and grabbed her whip. It quickly returned to its owner's hand as the gang boss pulled out his gun. "Let me make this clear." he mocked. "My name is One-Shot Shigure. There's a reason I'm called that." He held his gun with a careful aim, "Don't expect me to miss."

Layla was beginning to sweat. Sure she was pretty confident when she had that whip in her hand, but right now she's not too sure. She closed her eyes so she wouldn't see it coming and thought. _"First mom and now me. Why?"_

Suddenly she heard a loud scream and felt something land just in front of her feet. She tore her eyes open, but she was looking at the ground. Her whip laid in front of her. As she looked up, the first thing she saw was a fountain of blue hair standing behind the now unconscious Shigure.

By her figure, she was obviously a woman. Her curves were made obvious by her skin tight black suit. Her face was partially covered by a small mask. Only her brown eyes could be seen, just barely though.

"Are you alright?" she asked sweetly.

Layla grabbed up her whip and secured it to her belt. "Humph, I could have done it by myself."

The woman laughed, "You have the stubbornness of your father even if you look so much like your mother."

"What do you know about my parents?"

"Plenty, considering I fought alongside them for so long."

The woman grabbed Layla's hand and said, "Hold on tight." Suddenly, she leaped high into the air onto the roof of a building. She hopped from roof to roof with the agility of a ninja. Layla was too stunned to even complain like she usually did. She'd never seen any normal human jump like this except for on television.

Eventually they stopped at a small blacksmith's shop. All that could be heard was the sharpening of swords from the backroom. The entire place was dark. Layla was amazed, "Where are we?"

The woman, seemingly ignoring Layla's question, walked further into the building. Hesitantly, Layla followed the woman. She led Layla to the back, a room full of swords of every variety, shape, material, and even color.

"He must be in the basement." she said quietly.

"Who?"

Again the woman continued on, completely ignoring Layla, much to her annoyance. She moved a large drawer revealing a door on the bottom of the floor. The woman opened it and jumped down. Layla looked down the hole and gulped. It was pitch black down there and seemed overall ominous.

"Hurry up and jump down." the mysterious woman called.

Layla gulped again and slowly slipped her body down the hole. When she felt her feet touch the ground, a light suddenly turned on. After a few seconds of shielding her eyes, she observed her surroundings. She was in a library, a pretty old one as a matter of fact.

"Over here!" the woman called from a nearby room.

Layla slowly walked over to the next room, which actually turned out to be a kitchen. She met someone in a hooded robe cooking over a stove and the mysterious woman was lazily leaning against the counter.

"I refuse to take one step further until you start answering my questions. First of all, who are you?" Layla demanded.

"Oh I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Wendy Marvell."

* * *

**Author's Note:** _You can consider this a new year's present or a late Christmas present. But anyway you put it, it's a gift from me to you.. It's finally off pause. Also, I really need your help, please leave a vote on the poll on my profile. I want to know what story I should start after this one and I'm going by popularity vote. The poll closes when this story finishes, so leave your vote! Until then, don't forget to review._


	6. Sky Empress and The Prisoner

**Author's Note:** _Sorry I'm late, I actually forgot about this plus I had a really bad case of writer's block. Anyway, don't forget to visit the poll on my profile and leave your vote. Whatever story gets chosen will get started right after I finish this one. Anyway, without further ado here's chapter 6. Read, Review Rejoice!_

* * *

**Chapter 6:  
**_**Sky Empress and the Prisoner**_

"Wendy Marvell? I think I've heard that name before." Layla said with finger thoughtfully placed on her chin. Her head was filled with stories her parents would tell her about the good old days as young, extremely reckless Fairy Tail Wizards. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't seem to recall the name.

Suddenly, a high-pitched voice derailed Layla's train of thought as it called, "Wendy, is that you?"

A small white cat in a pink dress flew into the room wearing a slightly annoyed look on her face.

"Charle!"

"Charle?" Layla echoed. That name sparked something in her mind from something Happy probably told her, but she still couldn't quite remember who it was exactly.

Charle looked over at Layla then back at Wendy. "Where have you been and why is Lucy's kid here?"

"Excuse me! I'm not a kid!", Layla protested.

"In any case, where have you been Wendy? You know you're not supposed to go above ground."

"But its so boring down here all the time." Wendy pouted. "Besides, I just went out for some fresh air. It's stuffy down here!"

"Still, you brought someone back with you and that's dangerous. Suppose she tells someone about your location? It could destroy the whole point of being here in the first place! Honestly, you should think more about these things." Charle scolded.

"I took the route from on the rooftops, I don't think she picked up the exact location. Plus some guy was bullying her, I couldn't just leave her there!"

"Don't say bullying!" Layla complained. "You're just making me sound like a kid, I could have handled it myself!"

"Fine then, he was picking on her." Wendy corrected.

"That's worse!"

"Sorry to interrupt." The mysterious hooded-man spoke up. "The food is finished.", he said reaching up for a few bowls from the cupboard above his head.

Wendy quickly took a seat at the small dining table in the middle of the kitchen and removed the small mask from around her mouth in preparation to eat. Charle only sighed as she sat on the table, right beside Wendy who was cheerfully awaiting her meal.

"Why don't you ever cook?" Charle questioned.

"Cuz I don't know how!" Wendy said surprisingly cheerful.

"Shouldn't you be ashamed to admit that at your age?" Charle sighed. Wendy only laughed in response which irritated Charle just a little bit more. "This isn't a laughing matter!"

As Charle continued to scold Wendy, Layla was continuously staring at the hooded man as he took up the food into four bowls. She was entranced with curiosity as she kept trying to look at his face. He was obliviously avoiding her gazes, turning his head every time she almost caught a look at his face. However, the more he avoided her gaze, the more it piqued her interest.

Carefully, he carried all four bowls in his hands and placed them on the table, one in front of Wendy, one in front of Charle, one in front of an empty chair, and one in front of him as he took his seat.

"The other bowl is for you if you didn't know." He said, directed at Layla who was still standing up.

She slid into the empty seat and just as she was about to take a bite she heard Wendy complain, "Aw, is this all? There's usually more."

"Sorry, I didn't prepare enough for a guest, so you'll have to make do." he apologized.

"Besides it's your own fault, think of it as a punishment. You shouldn't eat so much anyway." Charle added insult to injury.

"Charle-chan that's mean, I'm a growing girl." she sobbed.

"Wrong, you're a fully grown woman, now start acting like one."

"Even so…" Wendy sniffled slowly taking a bite of the curried rice in front of her. "It's still so good."

Layla's eyes were fixated on the man as he bowed his head in grace. Finally when he realized her stare, he apologized, "I'm sorry, I must have forgotten my manners, leaving my hood up during a meal."

He slid down his hood revealing his messy blue hair and a peculiar red tattoo over his right eye. His dark green-brown eyes were soulful and deep as if they could see right through you. He smiled at Wendy then over at Layla.

"Gerard, that's awfully strange of you to do. Showing your face to a stranger and all." Charle commented.

He chuckled, "Since it's Natsu and Lucy's child, it should be okay."

"Yeah Charle! No problems, don't worry." Wendy added.

"I don't want to hear that from you." Charle grumbled.

Suddenly Layla sprang out of her seat with a sharp gasp. "_You're _Gerard. _The_ Gerard! The one Master Erza told me about! Aren't you supposed to be in prison or on death row, or… deadalready! Whoa! This is seriously crazy insane!"

Wendy grabbed Layla's wrist with a visible sweatdrop. "Hey calm down, no need to make a scene." she whispered with a nervous smile on her face.

Layla suddenly let out a high pitch shriek nearly bursting Wendy's eardrum. As the blue-haired mage held her ears in pain, Layla pointed down at her with a sparkle in her eye. "I can't believe I didn't remember until now, but you're Wendy Marvell as in the Sky Empress! The sky dragon slayer who left Fairy Tail when I was like, seven years old! I've heard like so much about you but I didn't think I'd ever meet you in person!" Again she let out a high-pitch fangirl's squeal. "I'm just about your biggest fan!"

"I didn't even know I had any." Wendy said with a nervous chuckle holding her throbbing ears.

Quickly Layla pulled a small pocket-sized book with a pen out of her skirt pocket and presented it to Wendy. " Would you please sign this?" she asked, humbly bowing her head.

"Umm, sure… I guess." She slowly took the book and pen from Layla's hand and signed her name as fancy as she could possibly get it. It was kind of weird to her, but in a way, Wendy felt really happy and proud to know she actually had a fan! "I finished! Here you go." she said, cheerfully handing Layla back her book while Charle silently scoffed, "Unbelievable."

Layla gazed at her book and then up at Gerard, the glint of intensity strong in her eyes. Quickly she humbled herself back into a bow as she requested, "I would like one from you too, if you don't mind."

"Sorry, but like you pointed out earlier, I'm supposed to be dead. The fact that you know that I'm still alive could be detrimental to my efforts of keeping it a secret. But, I would appreciate it if when you leave, you swear not to speak a word of what you've seen, heard, or even tasted."

"It would be safer to just wipe her memory." Charle suggested.

"WHAT!" Layla screeched. She ran to Charle in an exaggerated panic. She swooped down her hands and grabbed the white cat in the palm of her hands and brought her up to eye level. "After I finally get to see one of my all time favorite Fairy Tail mages and I even get an autograph, you want to wipe my memories! That's cruel, no worse, IT'S PURE EVIL!"

She violently shook Charle while having her panic attack as tears flew from her eyes. Wendy had to grab at Layla's arms to stop her from inevitably killing Charle. As Wendy scooped Charle back into the safety of her own arms, the puny white cat fell unconscious from dizziness.

* * *

"What the hell is this?" Lucy breathed. She winced every time she heard a scream. Blood stained the grass and walls surrounding the mages of Fairy Tail.

In Zeref's Magnolia, there are a few places the average mage wouldn't dare to step foot near. Of course, Fairy Tail mages have never been mistaken for your average mages, nor were they comparable with the average mage. Still, in these places called 'Hunting Grounds', Fairy Hunters gather about once a week, once a month, or sometimes even daily depending on the group. Like a tournament of illegal cock-fighting, some would bring captured mages and others would bet on who they think was stronger. The enslaved mages would then have to kill each other until one was left standing. The one left standing is set free, although the freedom is often short-lived, since they are usually recaptured and forced to fight again. Natsu and Happy would sometimes stop by and beat up the hunters to set the mages free.

Gray, Erza, Natsu, Happy and Lucy watched as one of these cruel fights were being obnoxiously jeered by a group of Fairy Hunters. The fight was taking place in an abandoned lot and the fairy mages were sure to stay hidden behind a dumpster.

"How long are we going to keep watching this, Natsu?" Erza clawed at the rusted metal of the large dumpster, visibly restraining herself from fighting those annoying bastards.

"As much as I'd love to rip those bastards apart, we have to stick to the plan, otherwise I won't be able to tell whether my theory's right or wrong." Natsu snarled with teeth clenched.

"Umm… what was the plan again?" Lucy asked uneasily, hoping that she heard wrong the first time.

"Huh, you forgot already." Natsu complained. "You go out there and if those guys don't try to kill you, then that means they don't know you're a mage. Thanks to the magic tracers I believe are attached to us, they probably can recognize a mage from this time period easily. If my theory is wrong and they attack you, Happy, Erza, Gray, and I will all be ready to save you but for now we'll stay behind."

"What if you guys… don't make it in time?"

Immediately Natsu pulled her into his embrace and whispered, "I swear to you, we won't let them touch you. I swear."

Lucy nodded her head still a bit nervous, but it wasn't as bad as before. Like a bon fire, his embrace was warm and inviting. Lucy was slowly starting to realize what her future counterpart saw in Natsu, and she liked it.

"Sorry to break up your little love fest but I think you're getting too much damn pleasure outta this while we're supposed to be carrying out this plan." Gray growled.

Slowly Natsu released Lucy and smirked at Gray. "Jealous?"

"You wish, dragon breath."

Ignoring Gray and Natsu's annoying bickering, Erza placed her hand on Lucy's shoulder and said, "It's time."

Happy, who stood on her armored shoulder, saluted Lucy. "Good luck, recruit. Please return alive."

"Don't say that! You'll give me the creeps!" Lucy protested. She sucked in a large amount of air and sighed tremendously in mental preparation.

Just then Gray shoved Natsu into the hard metal of the dumpster, denting it slightly. The sound of the crunching metal echoed through the Hunting Grounds, alerting the Fairy Hunters of their uninvited guests.

Realizing that they've probably been found out, Natsu gripped Gray's collar and snarled. "Gray you idiot. You blew our cover."

"Don't try blame this on me, you started it bastard." Gray growled, following suit by grabbing Natsu's collar.

"Who's there!" One of the Fairy Hunters called in a rough voice while rolling his tongue. "I'll give you till the count of three to show your face. One…"

"What do we do now?" Happy questioned as he flew over to Natsu's shoulder.

"TWO…" The Fairy Hunter continued his countdown.

* * *

**Author's Note:** _I know you're all probably gonna want to kill me when I say this, but I'm not really feeling the story anymore. I can barely remember where I was going with this. But here's some good news, I'm still going to continue it, though it might take a while since I'm trying to gather back up my ideas. Until then don't forget to review, and especially don't forget to vote on the poll I have on my profile. So far there are only two votes and none of them are for the Fairy Tail stories. Tell me what you think about 'em too, even if you don't vote. Anyway, see you next chapter!_


	7. Fairy Hunters

**Author's Note:** _I never expected to be writing here again. I thought that inspiration would never come and honestly, I gave up on this story. I kept receiving alerts about this story and all I kept thinking to myself was "Please hurry up and forget about this story. I feel bad enough about not being able to finish without being reminded that people are still reading this." Then I got a review from __**ArianaAngel**__ which made me decide to come back to the story and give it one more shot (thanx for the encouragement). Sure I had to read it all over again, but I was actually able to remember where this was going and even thought of some nice twists to add in. So without further ado, Read, Review, Rejoice!_

* * *

**Chapter 7:  
**_**Fairy Hunters**_

"Who's there!" One of the Fairy Hunters called in a rough voice while rolling his tongue. "I'll give you till the count of three to show your face. One…"

"What do we do now?" Happy questioned as he flew over to Natsu's shoulder.

"TWO…" The Fairy Hunter continued his countdown.

The Fairy Tail mages were beginning to panic. It wasn't that they were afraid of the hunters, Fairy Tail mages aren't afraid of anyone. They were more along the lines of anxious that things were not going according to plan.

"THREE!" the hunter yelled grabbing hold of the hilt on his sword that was strapped to his side. He grunted heavily but quickly calmed as he saw a figure emerge from behind the dumpster. _"A woman…"_, he said just loud enough for the others to hear him. Then he whistled, "She's blonde. I love 'em blonde!"

One of the hunter's snapped his finger and commanded. "Have you monkeys no manners? Give the woman an escort."

This hunter gave off a different aura than the others. He was the youngest of them all, a teenager maybe nineteen, but he sat higher than each of them. They jumped at the snap of his fingers like trained dogs.

The three hunters ran over to the mage who was noticeably shaking with fear. The fact that they looked like gorillas didn't help Lucy too much either. Still she complied with her escorts and followed them to their leader.

The young man smirked, his eyes scanning all over Lucy as he gently adjusted his glasses. She could feel him mentally undressing her, putting her in a maid's outfit, and undressing her again. It sent chills down Lucy's spine.

Finally he chuckled a bit and said, "How rude of me, staring at you silently without even introducing myself. I must have been captivated by your beauty! My name is Elven Greene." His skin was dark which was contrasted by his white hair. He wore glasses which gave him an aura of intelligence to some degree.

"Nice to meet you." Lucy breathed as she tried not to make eye contact with this creepy stranger. She looked over to the dumpster and saw all the Fairy Mages poking their heads out, each giving her the thumbs up. It didn't help her self-esteem at all.

Suddenly a crash from the brawl between the captive mages caught everyone's attention, especially Lucy's. Elven noticed Lucy's expression; it was as if she was disgusted by the sight, though he misread it a little. "These mages are disgusting aren't they? They used to be so proud, now they're tossing each other through the mud for survival. It's amazing how easily they give up their 'unshakable' pride when faced with kill or be killed." He laughed.

"How can you laugh at this? It's cruelty." Lucy argued.

Elven was a little taken back, but quickly regained his cool with a smirk. "What is cruel, little kitten, is that they continue to litter Lord Zeref's streets with their presence. Their existence is meaningless, therefore it doesn't matter whether they live or disappear. Nobody will miss them."

"What about their family and friends. Everyone has someone who cares for them, no life is meaningless." She protested.

"I see you're an idealist, little kitten." Elven laughed. "If I didn't know any better…", suddenly he snapped his finger.

His goons grabbed Lucy and held her down. Lucy struggled, but these men weren't gorilla-like for nothing. Elven walked up to Lucy and grabbed her hand. He inspected it as Lucy glared at him, then he smirked. He kissed her hand as he finished his sentence. "I would think you were a Fairy Tail wizard."

He stepped back. "You almost fooled me, little kitten. Almost."

Suddenly a tornado of fire swept past them. By sheer force, it picked up the goons, but Elven dodged it masterfully. The once brawling mages took this as their opportunity to escape, scurrying off as quickly as they could while Elven's attention and rage was seized by someone else.

Before anyone could react, Natsu already had Lucy in his arms while Erza and Gray took a stand on offense. Elven adjusted his glasses and assimilated the situation at hand. It was clear that he was outnumbered now that his useless underlings were wiped out in a single attack. That would be enough to frighten any normal man, that's what Elven thought to himself. Then he laughed and whispered to himself, "It's a good thing I don't consider myself 'normal'. This might be interesting 'data' after all."

"You gonna stay there talkin' to yourself or are you actually going to fight?" Gray challenged.

"Is this how the great Fairy Tail conducts themselves? Ganging up on a single enemy with no magical abilities hardly seems fair." Elven mused.

"I'll take you down myself." Gray grunted. "Ice Make Meteor!" he yelled. Within a second, a meteor shower of ice poured down on Elven, there was literally no time to dodge. They pounded into the ground with enormous pressure; even the smallest one could kill you.

When it all seemed over, a meteor larger than all the rest before floated in mid-air. It was the finisher. Gray forced it down with as much strength as he could. Suddenly it stopped mid-way through the attack.

"What the hell?" Gray growled. He tried to use his magic to manipulate it, but the ice meteor refused to budge.

When the fog from the attack cleared, every one of the Fairy mages stood in disbelief. There, in the palm of his gloved hand, Elven held the ice meteor neatly in place. He was unscratched from head to toe. It was like he wasn't even affected.

"Ice make magic? What an interesting find! As expected of the fairies. I definitely have to document this." Elven commented.

The meteor started to glow and got brighter and brighter until it was finally engulfed in light. Slowly the ice seemed to, what could only be described as, 'dematerialize' and turn into strange, digital, cell-like particles. Then these 'particles' gathered and were absorbed by Elven's white glove. A computer screen then projected from his glove and he typed in something. The computer beeped a few times then produced three light blue cubes, which Elven pocketed. An extremely complicated process that through years of experience and mastery, took Elven but a few seconds.

"What the hell was all that?" Erza asked curiously, but still conveying force.

"My secret." Elven replied playfully. "I won't just tell you."

"Then I'll force it out of you." Erza exclaimed as she flew towards him in a bust of speed. She gripped her sword in both her hands and swung at him. Elven quickly dodged, just barely avoiding the blade. "You think you can keep up?" Erza challenged. Elven replied silently with a nod. "Then let's see."

Every time Erza swung, Elven dodged, but before he could retaliate, Erza would swing again forcing him to remain in defense.

Meanwhile, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy retreated back toward Happy who remained behind the dumpster. "Idiot, go join the battle and help Erza out." Natsu ordered Gray.

"I would love to, but for some reason I can't use my magic right now. I feel drained and it must be that stupid hunter's fault. That weird thing he did to my ice meteor must have something to do with it."

"At least we know that Natsu might be right about that theory of his." Lucy added.

"What're you talking about, they were about to kill you." Natsu pointed out.

"Before that, he didn't seem to even realize that I was a mage myself. It was only after he noticed the Fairy Tail mark on my hand that he realized I was actually a wizard."

"See Natsu, I told you they'd see it." Happy noted.

"It doesn't matter anymore, now I know they definitely can't identify you as easily as the rest of us." Natsu exclaimed optimistically.

"Idiot, you're still forgetting the mark that's in plain view." Gray argued.

"Silly Gray, things like that can easily be covered up. Have some faith will ya."

Lucy giggled. "You two may have gotten older, but you didn't grow up at all."

"That's right Natsu, you're not mature at all." Happy agreed.

"The same goes for you, cat." Lucy pointed out.

"Just because you're getting older doesn't mean you have to act it." Happy wisely retaliated.

Meanwhile, Erza and Elven were both tiring each other out. They were breathing heavy, none able to land a hit on the other. Still, Erza was far more experienced in this type of situation and was still able to power through. As for Elven, he seemed to be slowing down, and reacting more sluggishly. Erza decided that one more attack should do it; she'd definitely land a hit.

She swung with as much strength as she could muster. Sadly for Elven, he moved to slow and was caught in his side. He stopped the blade from penetrating any further by gripping it in his hands.

As his hands touched the blade, Erza felt a strange reaction inside her. Like her magic was being drained using the sword as a bridge. She was always very sensitive when it came to her magic and could feel the slightest disturbance. She quickly released the sword and created distance between Elven and herself.

Just as the ice meteor before, Erza's sword dematerialized and Elven repeated the same process again. As he typed, Erza could feel a strange disturbance in her magic. She couldn't access the storage space where the rest of her armors and weapons were deposited. When the process was complete, Elven pocketed another three cubes, this time silver in color.

When he finished Elven sunk to his knees and held his side, covering the open wound Erza's sword made. "So you use ex-quip magic, and it is quite powerful too might I add." He complimented. "The data I got from you two was more than I expected, so for that I'll answer your earlier question."

"How are you able to access my magic?" Erza questioned.

"One thing at a time. I can answer it all in one explanation." He replied. "These white gloves I wear aren't just a fashion statement you know. These things are powerfully coated with a special magic-stopping technology. Literally all magic are rendered useless by it and it is all broken down into visible data. All magic has a wave link that connects it to its user. Using the attached computer, I can access that wave link and trace it back, or if I'm in direct contact with the user, my glove will connect to it more effectively. I hope that answers your questions."

"What about the cubes that came out? What are they?" Erza continued to probe him.

"That, my dear, must remain a secret for now." Elven said. The computer screen appeared out of his glove again. With a few taps on the screen, he disappeared out of her sight.

"Damn, what just happened!" Natsu yelled as the mages ran from behind the dumpster.

"He got away." Erza stated the obvious. "Something tells me we'll be seeing him again though."

…

Meanwhile, Elven had been transported to a strange storage room of sorts. It was like a freezer that was filled with metal cabinets. He pulled one of the drawers open and neatly placed the cubes that he made from Gray's ice magic in one tray and the cubes he got from Erza's sword in a separate tray. He closed up the drawer after carefully placing the trays back where they were and labeling them.

He then made his way toward a large tri-screened super-computer. He took off his gloves and hooked them up to some wires from his computer. Within moments, the computer pulled open two profiles, one belonging to Gray, and the other to Erza.

He studied the detailed profiles. They contained mountains of information on every aspect of the fairy mages. From personal information like birthplaces, age, and magic type, to detailed reports on each of their missions from since they joined Fairy Tail. Through this, he was able to link them to Natsu, whose face he remembered from the encounter, which led him to Lucy.

The four profiles remained on the screen as he looked over each one of them. Even though he was distracted, he still realized the tall figure standing behind him in the shadows.

"You're researching 'Fairy Tail's strongest team' I see." The figure spoke. By the voice, it was obvious it was a female, and it seemed Elven recognized the voice. "Did you have a nice encounter with them? Did you experience their strength first hand?" She asked.

"If you're referring to this injury, it was well worth it. It seems that Fairy Tail still has a few tricks up their sleeve. They aren't backing down so easily."

"No one ever expected them to. Fairy Tail has always been like this, and probably will always be. I just never know with those guys."

"But you know what?" Elven added with a slight bit of enthusiasm. "You were right, Fairy Tail is definitely interesting."

* * *

**Author's Note:** _I can't tell you guys sorry enough for taking so long. I'm just glad I finally have the inspiration to write on this and even gladder it's summer, so I have a lot of time before school re-opens to finish this. Hopefully I'll be done before I lose the inspiration, but that doesn't mean I'm going to rush, or shorten the plot. I won't deprive you any longer of what you rightfully deserve as readers, and that's a completed non-disappointing story. I'll try my best to deliver this, so until next time, good night (cuz its like midnight right now as I'm writing this). _


	8. Back and Forth

**Author's Note:** _Here I am with another update! I'm gonna trail off a bit from the usual gang because I'm sure there are a lot of other characters from this story you're concerned about. So we're going to check up on a few other friends this chapter! Note this: current time refers to the regular time of Fairy Tail (the time period Lucy was brought from), while Twenty Years Later takes you back to the time the story is otherwise set in. Just wanted to point that out. Don't forget, Read, Review, Rejoice!_

* * *

**Chapter 8:  
**_**Back and Forth**_

Nowadays in Magnolia, there are some places that never receive the sun's lights and remain forever dark and cold. These miserable areas where many fugitive mages hid their faces from the world, wallowing in the damp filth that the world left behind. The wind rarely blows and it seems as if time itself had stood still for years.

Rain was falling for hours on end in this forsaken area, which is a welcomed source of water for its inhabitants. A hooded man grunted heavily as he wandered through the alleys and crevices. He staggered with every step he took, huffing and puffing every step of the way. His heavy boots made splashes in the proliferating puddles beneath him.

Suddenly, the man stopped as his attention was caught by a large, rusted dumpster. An extremely skinny mother dog had just recovered a large portion of spoiled meat that she was about to share among her four starving puppies. The man stared down at the pitiful dog, his red eyes gleaming. The mother dog in turn, seemed to plead for him not to steal the little food she collected. It was a good amount for what could usually be found in this sort of place.

The man was quick as his arm quickly shot downwards. He kneeled, his hand locked onto his food. He pulled down his hood revealing his face, pierced multiple times around the nose and eyebrow areas. He picked up the pipe he had grabbed from behind the family of canines and lifted it close to his face. He snarled, "You're damn lucky I prefer iron."

As he ripped into the pipe with his razor sharp teeth, his meal was interrupted by another guest. He stood to his feet, a toothy grin on his face. "Bout time you showed up!"

"You know how hard it is for me to ditch those guys, Gajeel." The blue haired woman responded. She carried a big black umbrella and was slightly short in stature.

"Whatever." the iron dragon slayer scoffed. "You bring my payment?" he asked, almost demanded, with an extended arm.

"First the information." she insisted.

"Fine." Gajeel grumbled. "Those fairies are still fluttering about as strong as ever, last I checked anyway. Apparently that fire breathing leader of there's was working on some kinda gadget, but I hear its gonna be a flop."

"What kind of gadget?"

"Some kinda time machine or some other bull crap. In any case, my payment. Now!" Gajeel commanded.

The woman pulled out a pen and wrote out an enchantment, producing a bag full of various metals. She threw the sack at Gajeel's chest and proceeded to turn away. Just as she was about to walk off Gajeel stopped her. "One more thing…", Gajeel called with a mouth full of screw and bolts. "They're worried about you Levy."

Levy froze for a moment, but remained silent. A few moments passed before she responded. "You know, you're not as bad as you try to make people believe. I want to go back, but, it's not time yet. I need to gather more information, and I can't drag everyone else down with me."

"Last I checked, you were all a big, damn mushy family that would face everything together."

"Things change every second, the gears of time stop for no one."

"They'd want to help you." Gajeel persisted.

"They don't know the things I've learnt here. And what I've learnt could be the difference between victory and defeat in this war."

Gajeel opened his mouth to press on but he seemed to change his mind at the last second and smirked a toothy grin. "Don't say I didn't warn ya then!"

Levy smiled and started to walk away. Just before she was out of ear shot, Gajeel called, "Be careful out there." He turned on his heels and walked away the same way he walked in, staggering still, but he seemed to have gotten some of his energy back after eating.

* * *

**(Fairy Tail - Current Time)**

Often times Levy found herself exploring Fairy Tail's library, flipping through the old texts and scrolls. It was a quiet place where she was not only surrounded by books and knowledge but all of her fond childhood memories in Fairy Tail. With that in mind, she walked toward one of the tall bookshelves with a ladder in tow. She climbed up to about the fourth row where she immediately picked out her book and descended back to the floor. Just as she was about to open the book, a blinding light seized her vision. In a flash it was gone, but her vision was still a bit blurry. As she peeked her eyes open, the shelf wobbled slightly and some of the books fell, followed by a loud "Kyaa!" sound.

Levy was a bit shaken at first, but quickly she balled her fist and took a stance. "Whoever you are, come out now! You have a lot of nerve to think you could sneak into Fairy Tail like that!" Her voice quivered a little as she yelled and she was hoping the supposed enemy hadn't realized it.

"That voice, is that Levy?" The familiar voice called back from beneath the pile of books. "Mind giving me a hand?"

Levy didn't quite recognize the muffled voice from beneath the books, though it was obviously female. Still, she proceeded to dig them out. As she got closer to the person book by book, she began to make out the blonde haired mage. "Lucy!" she yelled eagerly as she reached down to pull her out, but as the celestial mage rose up, Levy was shocked. "What kind of magic?"

"Huh?" Lucy stood confused.

"What kind of magic did you use on yourself!" Levy yelled excitedly as she grabbed her friend in a bear hug. "Is this what you've been doing while you've been gone?"

Lucy didn't want to let go of her blue-haired best friend. "Levy…" She called her name almost breathlessly. "It's been so long…"

Levy pulled away and looked at Lucy, confusion lining her face. "What are you talking about? It's only been three days."

"Three days-"

Levy grabbed Lucy's hand and dragged her up and out the basement. "Everyone, Lucy's back!" she announced to the room of drunken fairies.

Almost immediately Natsu hopped excitedly in their path roaring flames. "Yo Lucy, where ya be-"

"Natsu!", Lucy grabbed the pink hair dragon slayer and pulled him into a tight embrace. He nearly suffocated between her breasts due to their current height difference.

"Oy, you're going to kill him if you keep it up." Gray warned snickering under his breath. Meanwhile Erza and Happy also joined the gathering, completing the team. "Weren't you shorter last I checked?" Gray pointed out.

"This is one of those growth spouts I hear so much about!" Happy yelled excitedly.

"That's growth spurts Happy…" Erza corrected the overzealous blue cat. "And they don't happen this quickly."

Lucy slowly released Natsu, leaving him gasping for breath. Her face wore a smile from ear to ear contrasting the few teardrops welling up in her eyes. The blonde mage stepped back, flicking away those pesky tears; she was too happy to cry.

"Where do I begin?" She asked, provoking the attention of the fairies. "So many things have happened."

"If it will make things easier, you can just summarize your report." Erza advised.

Lucy looked at them, her smile dropping slightly. "How do I summarize twenty years of information?"

* * *

**(Underground Magnolia - Twenty Years Ahead) **

After Charle regained consciousness and of course received her apology after giving a long and detailed lecture, Layla explained her situation thus far.

"I never would have thought that someone could actually invent a time machine! Wow!" Wendy admired childishly.

"Never mind that, I never thought that Natsu of all people would be the one to create such a mechanism. Although, calling it the 'Time-Travel Doohickey' sounds exactly like that hot-headed slayer." Charle ridiculed.

"I'm always telling you that he's better than you have him for." Wendy defended.

"Hmph." The white cat scoffed. "While I acknowledge his strength, his only real achievement that I'll recognize is the fact that he actually got the guts to propose to Lucy."

"Charle, you're belittling Natsu. That's no good." Gerard interjected.

"It's true." Layla spoke up, her fists balled tightly and the tears streaming down her face. Suddenly she lifted her head and attested "He's always screwing things up and making a mess of everything! When he isn't fighting with the other senior members, he's too busy to do anything with me! He doesn't care about me or mom, he's probably out there having fun, not even caring about what happened to mom or where I am."

The young mage's testimony shocked everyone, especially Charle who actually felt bad now. "When I said that stuff, I didn't mean-"

"That's not true!" Wendy opposed. "Natsu cares about you AND Lucy very much! Of that much I'm sure enough to lay my life on! At this very moment he's probably trying to locate both of you to the point that he's neglecting his own personal health."

"I don't know Natsu very well." Gerard added. "But, in the short moments that I was able to communicate with him, I've learned so many things about his personality. One of those things is that he would never turn his back on his nakama and he definitely would not turn his back on you, his own flesh and blood daughter with the woman he's been in love with for so long."

"Then… why doesn't he ever show that, then?" Layla asked quietly.

"He probably does and you just don't notice it." Charle pointed out, confusing the blonde halfling slayer. "Just like we've all established, Natsu's a bumbling idiot, so you usually have to deeply examine the things he does to understand the point. He's not used to showing emotions, but don't ever think he doesn't care."

Layla's mouth tucked towards its edges, creating a slight smile. She quickly brought her fingers up to her eyes to knock down the tears that still lingered around. "Guess that means I should go home then?"

Her head shot up as she felt a heavy pressure on her shoulder. Gerard's hand rested on the girl's shoulder as he smiled to her, "Stay as long as you think you need to."

"…Thank you."

* * *

**Author's Note:** _There are a lot of gears turning at the same time and who knows how things are going to go down. Time is such a strange thing to deal with and you never know what results to expect. 'Til the next chapter, I bid you, adieu!_


End file.
